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| Image by Albrecht Fietz from Pixabay |
By now, many of the people I follow online have shared their
lists of goals and expectations for 2025. I’ve been too involved in unpacking,
decision-making, and continuing home improvement projects at both our old home
and our new one to spend much time contemplating goals and plans for a new
year. Truth be told, in the past, I’ve not been very successful at following
through on goals intended to be accomplished over the course of a year. This
form of goal setting doesn’t work for me.
I still have goals I would like to see accomplished by the
end of this year, but I’ve got to find a more effective way to set and break
them down. The first approach I’m going to try is to set goals by quarter. This
method can take into account seasonal energy shifts, what outside events are
taking place in my life, and if something isn’t going well after three months, I
can regroup and reevaluate. I’m still figuring this out, but if I make any
breakthroughs, I’ll be sure to share them!
What about word of the year?
It’s been my practice for years to choose a word of the year as a sort of theme/guide/stated wish for the year. Some years a word leaps out at me (as in 2018 and 2019). This year, I had to work to find a word that resonated.
It’s likely that this year’s word was harder to pin down because
I have two forces fighting inside me: “Come on, Woman, let’s set new, ambitious
goals; let’s be more productive and GET THINGS DONE; c’mon, c’mon, let’s go…”
And
“OK, Sweetheart, it’s been a rough couple of years, let’s
take some time to heal and regroup. You’re tired. Why not take care of yourself?
You need more down time, not a longer to-do list.”
It took me a few days of test-driving possibilities, but I
found a word I think will help with both parts of my inner monologue:
Ease.
This word can be both noun and verb. As a noun, ease is the
state of being comfortable or relaxed, free of worry or pain. The verb means to
free something that pains, disquiets, or burdens; to lessen the pressure or tension;
to maneuver gently or carefully to make less difficult.
That sounds perfect.
It is my desire to be comfortable, relaxed and free of
worry. It is also my desire to maneuver gently and carefully to make life less
difficult.
The last couple of years have worn me down physically,
mentally, and emotionally. I’ve spent more time reacting than acting, my time
primarily taken up by activities I didn’t ask for or want. There are some areas
of my life that still need some tender care to replenish, but I also have more time
to use productively in support of outward-facing goals.
Notice the word is ease, not easy. I’m not
asking for easy (though easier wouldn’t come amiss). In my mind, ease
means a change of attitude and how I approach things. Instead of forcing, rushing,
and overscheduling, I will have an attitude of easing them along. I won’t
make things harder than they need to be by my own ways of thinking and being. I
can see myself turning to ease when I start to feel upset about something—how can
I incorporate ease into this situation?
So that’s how far I’ve gotten in planning for the year 2025.
I’m easing into it!
Have you set goals for 2025 or chosen a word of the year? What are you looking forward to? Please share in the comments!
